Exclusive: Stephan Franck Reveals the Cover Process to his Kickstarter Palomino
The year is 1981. The American Century is running on fumes, but the end isn’t anywhere in sight. The cowboy is still America’s most central symbol—and from movies, to music, to the President himself, it all hails from Southern California. Welcome to Palomino, cartoonist Stephan Franck’s all-new neo-noir graphic novel series, set in the lost culture of Los Angeles’ country music clubs.
The age of urban cowboys is in full swing. Cowboy hats and rhinestone suits are all the rage. Kenny Rogers “Lady” is Billboard’s number three song of the year. Dolly Parton is a national icon. And across LA, six nights a week, working musicians, TV actors, stuntmen, cops, hustlers, and broken souls all play their part in the cultural myth making. Most of them are just trying to survive—on the B-side of the City of Angels.
The project by Franck and his company, Dark Planet Comics, has four days to go a Kickstarter campaign and is well over its goal. It’s the first part of a planned four-part graphic novel series. Palomino captures Los Angeles’ spirit, with hardboiled dialogue, honkytonk music, and details from the city’s weird and forgotten history.
We have an exclusive first look at the cover to the graphic novel by Stephan Franck and the process of its creation.